Toddler girl summer shoe questions

[vikivoly]

We still haven't bought most of our shoes for the summer and I need a plan of action. We need something to wear with dresses to church - they don't have to be real dressy. We did all white Stride Rites Guppy sandals last year. I also want her to have a pair of comfy ones for play.

1. How many pairs of shoes should she have? Last year we had 2 pairs of sandals (one white and one tan), a water shoe, a pair of white mary janes with pink flowers, and a white sneaker. I thought we had most of bases covered, but I always longed for the more rugged Merrel type of shoe.

2. Many of the white dressy sandals that are cute have pink accents. Would you wear them with an outfit/dress that has no pink? This sort of thing usually bothers me, but I'm not sure if I'm making a big deal out of it or not.

3. She has a lot of yellow (pale), orange/peach, light blue and some pink in her wardrobe, but we really haven't bought most of her summer outfits yet. What colors/styles would you buy for her wardrobe?

So far we have the following shoes.

Stride Rite sneakers. These shoes are awesome!! They have ventilation screens to keep her feet nice and cool. Perfect for the playground.
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24599.jpg

and these lil' Birkie's in a light blue print.
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24600.jpg


These are some of the styles of shoes I like, but nothing is set in stone.

Plain white is boring, but they go with most everything
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24594.jpg

Or should I go with something a little more fun, but am I restricted by the color?
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24593.jpg


They list the color of these as tan and red, but I think I would wear them with almost any color of her play/comfy clothes.
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24595.jpg

These look red to me, but they are calling them pink. They're Merrels - has anyone seen these IRL?
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24596.jpg

These are the LE action sandals, but we would get pink.
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24598.jpg

These are a sneaker/sandal combo that I really love in tan/peach. They would not be needed since we just bought the SR sneakers with vents, but I really, really like them and am looking for an excuse to buy them. :)
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24597.jpg

I think we're skipping the water shoes this year, since we didn't get a lot of wear out of them last year. What about a tan dressier sandal to match off-white dress clothes?

I'm so confused?!?!

[Niki_n_Abby]

I just bought my DD a pair of very pale pink SR Guppies. She wears them as her everyday shoes and I like that she can wear them with most of her dresses for church(casual). I bought them because they are close toed so she is protected on the playground but the sandal keeps her feet cool. I only plan to get her a pair of plain white MJs to wear with her Strassberg dresses and a pair of water shoes(we live on a lake).

The pale pink of her shoe or color accents on shoes doesn't bother me. If it is a butterfly or flower, I really think you can put it with anything.

Niki

[cinrein]

I just ordered the first sandals option you posted from shoebuy after seeing the sandals IRL at StrideRite. There is some pink detailing that shows on the top of the sandal. It's hard to see in the pic, but where the strap that goes around the ankle meets the "T" strap there is some pink ribbon. Just wanted you to know that these are not totally white.

Cindy and Anna February 2003

[vpalmer]

So far we have 2 pair of sandals. The first are the pink floral LE Toddler Action Sandals.

The second are these white Keds sandals: http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24624.jpg
There are pink accents although they are much more subdued in person than in that picture and I specifically bought them to wear with colors other than pink as well. I think pink accents are fine with non pink clothing.

I really like the butterfly sandal you posted and it would go great with TP even though it is pink. A lot of the embroidery in that line has pink in it and the color is such that it would blend great with a pink.

Lastly, I think we will get a tennis shoe for the playground and daycare. We are looking at this shoe in the Garnet Hill catalog:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/24625.jpg


Re: the sneaker, sandal combo: Eva and I both have similar style shoes and they are great but they are not that great for the playground. I always get the rubber stuff in my shoes as does Eva. Right now that is what Eva has instead of a tennis shoe and I think we may just have to get her a real tennis shoe.

Shoes are the most confusing piece of Eva's wardrobe to me. I just don't know if the perfect shoe exists for a toddler! On one hand it seems like a waste for a toddler to have so many shoes, but on the other hand it seems necessary too. I will admit that I have never bought Eva a pair of sneakers even for the playground, can you believe it? The canvas hybrids we have now are the closest we have ever come to sneakers. I have just bought her a stride rite mary jane or closed sandal and called it good. But since she is so much more active this summer I think the time has come to branch out a bit.

I am sorry but I have probably been totally useless to you in this response. But I do like the butterfly sandals the best, does that help? ;-)

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born 6-03